SANDS OF IWO JIMA – A Movie Review
Greatest World War II Movie of All Time? Vote Now!
U.S. Marine Corps Propaganda Film
A Review by John Nesbit
Saddle up, if you’re in the mood for a good old fashioned U.S. military propaganda film, complete with Marine complicity and steadfast use of the Marine Hymn for the musical score. Pop Sands of Iwo Jima into your video recorder or DVD player. Before the non-sanctioned Vietnam flicks (and before Saving Private Ryan), Hollywood once sanitized its war movies to conform to military standards that showed little realism and promoted American notions of heroism (along with stereotypical plots and wooden acting). Allan Dwan’s film only rises above the mundane formula due to John Wayne’s excellent performance as the flawed Sergeant John N. Stryker.
Filmed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, Sands of Iwo Jima begins with the hard-nosed Stryker training new marines in New Zealand for the island-hopping battles to come. Screenwriters Harry Brown and James Edward Grant script standard formula soldiers for the platoon:
- Pfc. Conway (John Agar) son of Stryker’s buddy, who joins out of a sense of duty to family tradition
- Pfc. Thomas (Forrest Tucker) antagonist to the sergeant. He once lost a boxing championship to Stryker, so any dunderhead can figure out one required scene to come
- Pfc. Regazzi (Wally Cassell) the comic relief
- Pfc. Bass (James Brown) steadfast loyalist to the sergeant
- Pfc. Choynski (Hal Baylor) platoon doofus (think a less over-the-top Gomer Pyle from Full Metal Jacket)
- Flynn brothers (Richard Jaeckel and William Murphy) provide unfunny comic relief as the continually bickering and wrestling brothers from Philadelphia (city of brotherly love)
- Assorted other ethnic stereotypes and generic soldiers to serve as cannon fodder
The 1943 training proceeds as expected, as the older Stryker works to get the platoon into fighting shape. Most of the training scenes are shown via montages that fade in and out, shot at a medium distance so you don’t get a real sense of the rigorousness of the training. Even a brutal twenty-two mile uphill hike is glossed over with a narration to transition to nighttime pup tent scene, where Thomas proclaims the veracity of love at first sight.
Two training sequences stand out only because the screenwriters develop the scenes more, and because Stryker carries them. In a scene that the Marines wanted left out (as it could never occur without a court martial), Stryker practices tough love on the bumbling left-footed Choynski with a stiff rifle butt to the chin. Stryker makes up for the blow later with a silly Mexican Hat Dance routine to teach Choynski proper bayonet thrusting techniques.
|
One small moment occurs during a night off. Stryker sits alone at a table. His drinking problem has been well established, along with the idea that his family relationships are dysfunctional, but his initial rebuff of a female proposition comes across humorously before his eyes soften a bit. Whoa! The Duke takes her up on her offer? Remember that this is a 1949 film, and certain codes are in place, so don’t expect a wild sex scene, but watching Wayne maneuver through this encounter makes the film worthwhile. Wayne also navigates some potentially sentimental material with Pfc. Thomas, conflicted because he’s not like the man that his father envisioned. He’s Harvard-educated and far softer than the macho soldier who formed his father’s ideal, so Thomas has issues to resolve. The film sets him up as most likely not to succeed in surviving the battleThomas gets hurriedly married before shipping off to battle, discovers that he’s going to be a father, and has a feeling that he’s not going to make it. Wayne provides a nice balance for the character. No pure tearjerker scenes when The Duke is on the set!
The film fares much better than Ira Hayes. It rises above mediocrity on the strength of The Duke’s broad shoulders, from its historical value, and from the editing work that splices the actual war footage into the Hollywood production. Trivia: In one scene, combat veteran Sgt. Stryker (John Wayne) instructs bumbling recruit Pvt. Choynski (Hal Baylor) on the correct way to march and hold a rifle. In real life Baylor was an ex-Marine who fought in the horrific battles of Saipan and Tinian in WW II; Wayne had never spent a day in the military in his life.
ATTENTION READERSWe See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion. About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT.
|
